Robbery suspect transported to Lake County, booked

LAKE COUNTY-- A man who police believe is linked to a late November armed robbery in Clearlake and had been in custody in Alameda since, was transported Saturday to Lake County.

Alameda County Sheriff's Office personnel notified the Clearlake Police Department (CPD) that Reginald Jerome Patillo, of Oakland, was eligible to be transported to Lake County, CPD Sgt. Nick Bennett said. Patillo was booked at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional facility and will be facing at least one charge of first-degree robbery.

CPD detectives began looking for Patillo, 30, and two other suspects after they discovered evidence suggesting they were connected to a Nov. 28 armed-robbery, the CPD stated.

The two other suspects reportedly met one of the alleged victims on Nov. 27 during a flight from Colorado to San Francisco, according to the CPD. The victim reportedly told the suspects he was going to Clearlake to visit friends. That same night the two suspects, accompanied by Patillo, allegedly met up with the victim and two other people in Clearlake.

During their visit in Clearlake, at about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 28, Patillo and the two other suspects allegedly pulled out handguns and an AK-47-style assault rifle and threatened the three victims, the CPD stated. The suspects reportedly tied up the victims and stole an undisclosed amount of money, a shotgun, several cellphones, a flat screen television, an Xbox video game console and a large amount of processed marijuana.

Patillo and the two suspects reportedly left the scene in a black Ford Crown Victoria, the CPD stated. None of the victims were seriously injured during the incident.

During the course of the investigation, CPD personnel identified Patillo as a suspect and reportedly used GPS coordinates to track his cellphone, the CPD stated. He was found to be frequenting the cities of Oakland and Berkeley. Both the Oakland Police Department and the Berkeley Police departments were notified.

Patillo was arrested on Nov. 29 in Oakland and was taken into custody in Alameda, where he was held on unrelated charges until he was transported to Lake County, Bennett said.

The investigation is ongoing and the CPD did not want to release further information on the two remaining suspects, Bennett said.

Patillo is in custody at the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility with a bail of $1,170,000. and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.

Isaac Brambila is an associate editor for Lake County Publishing. Reach him at 263-5636 ext. 37 or at ibrambila@record-bee.com.